Kazimierz Twardowski

Kazimierz Twardowski (20 October 1866 – 11 February 1938) was a Polish philosopher, psychologist, logician, and rector of the Lwów University. Initially affiliated with Alexius Meinong's Graz School of object theory, Twardowski emphasized "small philosophy," which involved the detailed, systematic analysis of specific problems. He studied philosophy at the University of Vienna under Franz Brentano and Robert von Zimmermann, earning his doctorate in 1891. In 1894, he published "Zur Lehre vom Inhalt und Gegenstand der Vorstellungen" (On the Doctrine of the Content and Object of Presentations), a significant work exploring intentionality. Twardowski lectured at the University of Vienna before becoming a professor at Lwów University in 1895, where he established the Lwów–Warsaw school of logic. His students included prominent logicians and philosophers. He also founded the Polish Philosophical Society and the journal "Ruch Filozoficzny." Twardowski's work on the content–object distinction in his theory of intentionality, building on Brentano's ideas, sought to clarify the nature of mental representations. He proposed that a presentation can refer to its immanent content or to an object in the world.